Since I’m a Time-Limited Princess Who Has No Tomorrow - Chapter 141

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 141
Did Heo Gye-gyo have some hidden past?
There was no way to know for certain now. I’d have to ask him about it when the opportunity arose.
‘I need to find out why Je-gal Pyo can’t handle demons, and I’m curious about Yun Ra-sa’s past too, but now it seems Heo Gye-gyo has his own story as well.’
The list of things I needed to understand kept growing. Yet I felt oddly pleased about it. If I could help them with something, it would be easier to ask them to become my subordinate deities later. Besides, aiding humans was a noble and fulfilling duty befitting a great deity.
‘But for now… I should rest.’
I was exhausted beyond measure. This was the first time I’d ever fought while expending so much divine power.
‘Back at Geu-seun-dae, the Crown Prince handled all the combat himself. I only provided healing.’
I suddenly missed the Crown Prince.
‘I wonder if he’s somewhere on this mountain right now, defending against attacks with his teammates. Who ended up in his group?’
With such thoughts in mind, I moved toward the bear pelt spread out near the campfire.
Yun Ra-sa seemed to have fallen asleep while unconscious. Je-gal Pyo was reattaching the bear pelt over the entrance, and Yi Yeon-jo, who appeared most exhausted, was already sprawled out.
“You all worked hard. Good night, everyone…”
The moment Yi Yeon-jo greeted me, he closed his eyes and immediately began snoring heavily. He seemed almost unconscious. I was a bit worried he might be coming down with something.
“Leader, you should get some rest too.”
“J-just… let me fix this. The cold wind is… there, that’s done.”
I watched Je-gal Pyo return to the campfire and lie down before I closed my eyes as well.
Je-gal Pyo also fell asleep quickly. Once everyone had quieted down, the crackling of the campfire mingled with the sound of insects chirping. Spring nights weren’t so much cold as they were cool, and the crisp air brushed against my skin.
‘Come to think of it, this is my first time sleeping outdoors like this. Covered in animal hides instead of blankets… if I still had my original body, I never could have endured something like this.’
There was something oddly delightful about it all. I’d successfully repelled the attack, grown closer to the others, and was experiencing new things I could never have dreamed of in Heaven.
Just as sleep was beginning to claim me, Gwang-chul chattered from around my wrist.
[Your Highness, are you sleeping?]
[No, not yet. Why?]
[That Utouri’s vital point strike from earlier—if there had been a blood seal there instead of me, at minimum you would have lost your hand, at maximum your head. Since I was there instead, I held back, and things proceeded peacefully, just as Your Highness intended, in a very human way, didn’t they?]
You didn’t really hold back so much as you didn’t intervene because the situation wasn’t that dangerous. Why was he suddenly saying this?
[What are you trying to say, Gwang-chul?]
[Hehe, since I was so well-behaved today, could I maybe go play outside for a little while while Your Highness sleeps?]
[What? You’re not going off to cause trouble again!]
[N-no trouble at all! I won’t go far! I’ll just take a few laps around this area and come back!]
[That’s enough. You sleep too.]
[But… being wrapped around your wrist all day long makes me feel stiff and achy. Your Highness, imagine having your waist twisted like this constantly—my whole body aches. Can’t I just slip into the forest where humans won’t see and do some stretches and exercises?]
Hearing him put it that way made my resolve weaken. He did have a point—he wasn’t actually a bracelet, so being forced to act as one all day would be tedious and uncomfortable.
[…Fine, but only for a little while. Don’t go far, just take a walk and come back.]
[Thank you! Thank you! Your Highness is the best!]
[If the humans find out, I won’t go easy on you. Be careful.]
[Don’t worry! I’m an expert at sneaking around and causing mischief! And since you’re carrying a charm for warding off misfortune, you’ll be fine, but I’ll set up a barrier just in case before I go!]
Gwang-chul slipped free from my wrist and flew up, disappearing over the fence. A shimmer of spiritual energy rippled from beyond the fence.
[I’ve set up the barrier, so sleep peacefully! I’ll be back soon!]
He was absolutely thrilled. Surely he wouldn’t cause trouble here again?
Though I felt a twinge of worry, exhaustion won out. I fell asleep almost immediately.
Not long after, I awoke to Gwang-chul’s persistent mental call.
[Princess, Princess.]
[….]
[Princess, I believe you should wake up for a moment. Princess? Princess!]
[Ugh, why….]
[While wandering about, I spotted a suspicious group of humans moving in clusters. It appears they intend to attack another unit in this area. Should I leave them be?]
[An attack…? Leave them be, they’re probably instructors or trainers….]
[Well, even at a glance, there are more than thirty of them, no? Aren’t there fewer instructors and trainers combined than that? And they’re all wearing masks.]
[More than thirty? Masks?]
Startled awake, I bolted upright from my bedding. A late-teenage boy with fiery red hair and dark skin was crouching beside me.
It had been a while since I’d seen Gwang-chul in his true form.
“Humans wearing masks, you say?”
“Shh, you’ll wake them.”
Gwang-chul, his finger pressed to his lips, continued through our mental connection.
[Yes, they all looked bloodthirsty. No matter how I look at it, they’re assassins, not instructors or trainers.]
[Why would thirty assassins infiltrate these mountains? Are they summoned creatures like those bean soldiers Heo Gye-gyo used to create?]
[Absolutely not. They’re real humans. I am who I am—how could the Dragon Prince Sa-hae Gang-chul fail to distinguish such a thing?]
[Hmm….]
[What should we do? Shall we go kill them all?]
[Don’t be hasty. If we carelessly harm people, the karmic debt will be unbearable.]
I restrained Gwang-chul, who looked eager to stretch his limbs in combat, and sighed.
[Let’s go together. We need to confirm whether they’re truly assassins, and if so, who they’re targeting.]
[Well, it seems obvious who they’re targeting.]
[Hmm?]
[You said there’s another unit in the direction they’re heading. That unit contains the human Crown Prince. If assassins are gathering in such numbers, they must be targeting the Crown Prince, no? The Crown Prince is a position that faces assassination threats at any moment.]
My mouth fell open.
The Crown Prince? Assassins?
‘Well… since we’ve ventured outside the Palace without the Palace Guard, now would indeed be the perfect opportunity to target the Crown Prince.’
But is there a mastermind capable of this? The Left Prime Minister received the poison cup, and Suryuggyeon, who was acting as Chief State Councillor through Dun-gap-jwi, was dealt with by Jagyogapsa. The Court is now firmly controlled by the King and Yi Do-hyung, the newly appointed Chief State Councillor, isn’t it?
‘Of course, Wan-eon survived thanks to his youth and bloodline, and he’s currently in exile….’
Now that I think about it, Wan-eon is four years older than the Crown Prince, so he must be eighteen now. He’s reached the age for his coming-of-age ceremony. The old Wan-eon was nothing but a foolish child whining about his maternal grandfather, but I have no idea what he’s become now, having aged during his exile.
‘Could it be that the remnants of the Wan-eon Faction have regrouped around the now-grown Wan-eon? And they’ve sent assassins to seize this opportunity….’
The imagined scenario sent chills down my spine. I hurriedly rose and reached out to Gwang-chul.
[Let’s go now. I need to see this myself.]
[Understood!]
Gwang-chul scooped me up and flew skillfully through the trees, wreathed in clouds.
[Hehe, by the way, Princess. Haven’t I been avoiding trouble and actually earning merit? So….]
[Shh, be quiet. I can see them.]
In the dark forest, humans clad in black garments and black masks moved silently. As Gwang-chul said, there were at least thirty or more, and their attire unmistakably marked them as assassins.
‘Are they truly assassins?’
There was certainly something suspicious about all this. But Seongsul Academy should have sealed off and guarded this entire area for the examination—so how did such a large force manage to slip through?
Perhaps the instructors had hired these people to attack the cadets. Or maybe someone within Seongsul Academy had been compromised and let in real assassins.
[Don’t be seen. Just follow me.]
[Yes, Princess.]
Gwang-chul, who answered with a disgruntled and peculiar pronunciation, scooped me up and leaped between the branches, keeping us hidden from view.
Below the branches, dark figures rushed past in haste. Then, at some point, they stopped. One of them raised his hand, and as if by prior arrangement, they split into two groups and moved in different directions.
[Why did they split up?]
[I’m not sure.]
[Are they trying to circle around and surround us? Is the Crown Prince’s group in that direction?]
[Yes.]
[…What’s your problem? You didn’t cause any trouble and you did good work, but you’re still unhappy?]
[Ahem, ahem. Well, not praise, but you know… if I behave well and listen carefully, you said you’d let me eat sometimes… hehe.]
Now I understood exactly why An-si had made that club. This drunkard couldn’t even tell the time or place to keep his mouth shut?
[Is now really the time for that? You have no sense of propriety whatsoever!]
[But Princess, you’re much younger than me—how would you know whether I have sense or not?]
[You’re wasting your age! Stay quiet and move. They’re leaving!]
[Ah, which way should we follow them?]
[…No, don’t follow them. Let’s head to where the Crown Prince’s group is. That must be the target.]
[Understood.]
Gwang-chul bounded nimbly between the trees.
Before long, a strange wooden palisade appeared in the middle of the forest. It wasn’t made from felled and woven branches—rather, the trees seemed to have grown so densely packed together that they naturally formed a fence-like structure.
[Is that the Crown Prince’s outpost?]
[Yes. There’s a Taoist Priest in that group who specializes in accumulating Wood Qi. It seems he created that palisade.]
The mysterious figures—whether assassins or not—were nowhere to be seen nearby yet. They were circling around, while we had come straight here.
[Put me down here for now.]
[What are you planning to do?]

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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